BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                           867 (Nava)
          
          Hearing Date:  08/27/2009           Amended: 07/23/2009
          Consultant:  Dan Troy           Policy Vote: ED 8-0
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____
          BILL SUMMARY:   AB 867 would authorize the California State  
          University (CSU) to award a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree.   
          The program would focus on the preparation of clinical faculty  
          to teach in postsecondary nursing education programs and may  
          also train nurses for advanced nursing practice or leadership.   
          If CSU creates a degree pursuant to this bill, it would be  
          required to report annually on the status of the program to the  
          California Postsecondary Education Commission, the Legislative  
          Analyst's Office, and legislative budget subcommittees.
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2009-10      2010-11       2011-12     Fund
                                                                  
          DNP                               Several hundred thousand to  
          over                        General
                                            over a million, when program  
          is fully
                                            implemented
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
          
          Current law defines the primary mission of CSU as providing  
          undergraduate instruction and graduate instruction through the  
          master's degree level.  Current law also provides that CSU may  
          offer doctoral programs jointly with the University of  
          California or independent postsecondary institutions with the  
          approval of the California Postsecondary Education Commission.  
          CSU is currently authorized to offer a Doctor of Education  
          degree focused on preparing administrative leaders for K-14  
          public schools.

          This bill would authorize CSU to award a Doctor of Nursing  
          Practice degree.  The primary intent of the degree is to prepare  










          faculty to teach in postsecondary nursing programs and thus help  
          address California's nursing shortage.  The bill provides that  
          funding shall be within the enrollment growth provided in the  
          annual Budget Act and would not alter the ratio of graduate  
          instruction to total enrollment, and shall not diminish  
          enrollment growth in undergraduate programs. 

          There are a variety of reasons for the shortage, according to a  
          June 2008 study by the California Institute for Nursing & Health  
          Care (CINHC).  While the CINHC indicates that a lack of  
          educators is a problem, the study notes that entry level  
          teaching salaries are only about half of what can be earned as  
          clinical nurse with 20 years of experience.  While the report  
          identified seven critical areas for strategic nursing education  
          redesign, additional DNP programs were not part of the  
          recommendations. Similarly, a report by the California Board of  
          Registered Nurses identifies a lack of clinical sites and  
          uncompetitive faculty salaries as the significant barriers to  
          nursing program expansion.  

          Page 2
          AB 867 (Nava)

          While many details would not be worked out prior to an actual  
          implementation date, CSU has indicated that when fully ramped up  
          there may be as many as 90 to 100 students in the program over  
          three campuses.  These students would cost approximately  
          $800,000 in enrollment growth, if funded at the marginal cost  
          rate.  As doctoral education is generally more costly than  
          undergraduate education, and nursing education is more expensive  
          than many other areas, this estimate would understate the actual  
          cost to the system, though.  The relatively high costs to the  
          system of serving these students will result in a shift from  
          other programs.  Additionally, CSU will likely incur startup and  
          administrative costs that will lead to either higher  
          expenditures or a shift from current program resources.

          Similar legislation, SB 1288 (Scott, 2008), was held by this  
          committee last year.